For 3G, an extra $10 a month isn't as off-putting as it seems. An increase in the price of the data plan probably would have occurred even if Apple didn't lower the price. Then the real bitching would commence.

This is like razors. You can practically give away the razors but charge an arm and a leg for the blade refills.

No One was deceived. Most of us in this country can read, write and perform rudimentary math. What a ridiculous headline. I won't be buying one, but the data plan is in line with what Verizon is charging.

Can't you just buy the phone unlock it and use an non iphone price gouging plan? Do you lose any features even if you stick with AT&T but use their non iphone plans?

And for all that, it _still_ doesn't do picture text.

@Concerned_Citizen:
You'd lose the internet.

$30 is what they charge for all PDA phones.

Progress, bitches.

It's a better phone, with better services. It should cost more.

Is anybody seriously surprised by this?
Seriously?

The iPhone plan was a deal at $20, and $30 is a completely reasonable price for unlimited internet access. Charging an extra $5 for 200 text messages is not.

/Sticking with the original iPhone for a couple more years.

You'll have to give an eye for that phone>

Not that bad if you don't actually use SMS. I think the most SMS messages I've ever used in a month is like 10. So most of that price increase wouldn't matter much to me.

Cost me NOTHING. I'm not stupid enough to buy one, or any other IPud, for that matter. Fool and his money...

>> Some of them can't afford it. So we need to make the iPhone more affordable.
> The new iPhone is not more affordable.

When he says it needs to be more affordable he just means up front, because dumb people don't budget more than a few weeks in advance (if that). Something that's $200 cheaper right now is cheaper even if it costs you $160 more in the long run. This is why poor people stay poor.

So everyone wins! Apple/AT&T make more money, dumb people think they're saving money, everyone else excuses the price bump for the privilege of using the Jesusphone. Rainbows and unicorns for all.

errr im currently paying $30 for my iphone data plan.... wtf?

Oh, and while we're on the topic, SMS is the biggest scam imaginable as far as overpriced wireless services. It costs them next to nothing to provide that service (the data is miniscule), and yet they rake in the dough for it. Why should I pay so much to send less data than like 1 second of voice?

AT&T also recently appears to have quadrupled the price of "pay per use" SMS, to $0.20 each.

I don't think it matters. People that want the iphone will pay whatever Jobs/ATT want them to pay. Being a member of the Apple Cult ain't cheap. LOL.

But the new pricing isn't that big of a deal. It actually brings the iphone data package up to the same level as the other non-iphone data package that ATT offers. Currently, you can add unlimited data to any calling plan for $30 a month, no SMS included.

I think people should wait. The 3G iphone is supposed to launch worldwide in the same week. In some countries, there are laws against selling SIM locked phones. So if you don't want to be locked into a 2 year contract with ATT, then buy a grey market unlocked iphone on ebay. Just don't expect to pay $199.

@JennQPublic: I agree that $30 a month is perfectly reasonable for unlimited internet access on your cell phone. As long as that $30 also includes 500 daytime minutes, unlimited night & weekend minutes and unlimited text messages.

Sprint SERO FTW!

[www.fatwallet.com]

All I can say is: iSheep...

So if I don't buy the SMS plan (as I almost never text), I'll only be paying $40 more for the 3G iPhone. That sounds perfectly okay to me.

Still misleading of Apple though.

@Concerned_Citizen:

ATT learned from the previous iphone model and the "hoardes" that they claim bought the phone, unlocked it, and went to another carrier (or replace it with another ATT phone chip). Now they've apparently demand that if you buy the 3G variant of the phone, the phone must be activated in store only (not through itunes like the last model). Furthermore, if you were to buy it in a way that you could get around this (apple store perhaps?) then they've been working on penalites for not activating your phone on their service. I dont know what the exact figures of these penalties are but you'd be losing alot more than the $160 price difference this article metnioned.

Depends on the country. They're just plain cheaper here and in the UK; the plan still costs the same, while the phone is from half the price to free depending on plan. There's more of a history of heavy operator subsidy in Europe, though; my understanding is that AT&T doesn't do it to any great extent.

@sarusa:

The rainbow can be delivered any time, but could you please make sure the unicorn is delivered Monday or Tuesday between 9am and 2pm?

Kthnx, bai!

I never understood iPhone hype.
It's just a FRIGGIN' PHONE!

It does not do your dishes, walks your dog. Also, it doesn't do anything more that a Blackberry or a Palm. It's cute, but forking hundred of dollars for cuteness?

@calvinneal: True. Most people CAN do the math, but most people do not. I've only been on this earth for 25 years and it didn't take me that long to realize that there are a lot of stupid, gullible people out there who take things at face value. If they heard it's more affordable then that must mean it's fact. As an example, I work at a small, local computer store with about 10 machines on display. Every week someone walks in, passes by all of the machines, looks around for 30 seconds, walks up to the counter and asks if we even sell computers here. It drives me absolutely insane and makes me wish I could enforce darwinism with an aluminum bat. If something that simple is beyond many people then adding up some numbers for 24 months of service would cause their heads to spontaneously explode from the intense heat caused from thinking beyond that initial impulse.

@Concerned_Citizen: Doubtful. Unlike the original iPhone, you MUST SIGN a 2-year contract in order to purchase the new iPhone. Even at Apple's online store they say that the iPhone 3G can be purchased at "any one of the Apple retail stores and AT&T stores around the nation". I wouldn't be surprise that you couldn't order one online and have to purchase it at a retail store therefor forcing you into the contract. They don't want to lose any more money than they did with the current situation of convenience [iTunes setup].

Everybody wants an iPhone.
I don't (want one or care). I have a camera, and a laptop. I don't need a freaking PHONE to take pictures or access the internet.

@calvinneal: Sorry, but mortgage crisis proves the contrary.

You should see headlines overseas : ''USA caused world's market crisis'', ''USA caused severe market damage by allowing deregulated mortgage loans''. Etc.

Fun to read, or not.

@TechnoSmurf: EXACTLY. Jobs' statements are even more disengenuous because they've now made it almost impossible for people to affordably unlock their iphone. If you must activate in-store, then you're forced into the higher price plan, even if the phone is cheaper. This is what makes me so angry about this. What the fuck, Apple? You make noise about being so independent, but when you release the one product I want to buy from you (iphone) you force me to sign up with AT&T, a crap-ass company that I have a lifetime ban on ever since they out-and-out lied about my wife's cell phone service. Just release your damn phone and turn on/off features based on carriers that can support them.

Not including SMS with the package is pure greed on AT&T's part.

Also, for everyone buying a 3G iPhone, but unable to get 3G service in their area, they still have to pay $30 a month vs. $20 for the old 2G/EDGE data plan. Considering AT&T's 3G coverage is laughable, they're making out like bandits.

I really wish Apple would just make a CDMA iPhone for Verizon.

My current cell phone, four years old, is literally falling apart, and while I love Verizon's service, their phone selection is garbage. I don't know what to do... I want an iPhone, but $35 a month just for data (3G and SMS) is insane.

Maybe with the 20% work discount on every bill it'll be manageable...

I should mention that I would love to get an iPhone. but this kind of duplicitous marketing is what makes me want to punch Steve Jobs in his smarmy face.

I was initially going to get an iPhone until the numbers started coming out and it was determined the total cost of owning one over two years is higher than it used to be. I don't need to check my e-mail on the run so bad that I'd be willing to pay $75-$80 for it.

@PeteyNice: Yep, I jumped on that SERO plan just this last week after deciding against the iPhone. I've found over the last handful of years that I use minimal talk time but use a shitload of SMS on a monthly basis. The $30 plan was exactly what I needed.

Well consider the fact that bought Sprint and T-Mobile are much cheaper (like $20 Unlimited Internet on T-Mobile, or my favourite $5 T-Zones which basically allow you access to any site or internet service as long as its thru port 80) and the fact that most of AT&T coverage is still EDGE, its not only a false statement but a ripoff compared to the competition. People unlocked their iPhones to T-Mobile because it is cheaper. Raising the prices isn't gonna help AT&T's image or stop the desire to unlock iPhones.

I also heard that Apple is going to start charging 15 dollars for the first(!) checked bag. Just get a Blackberry.

What some people pay for JUST internet access on AT&T gets me Unlimited Data Access, Unlimited Text Messaging, N&W starting @ 7pm and 450 mins on SERO.

Why did this post delete all references to the other phones included in the little cost study? Perhaps to get the anti-Apple trolls and the pro-Apple fan boys fighting, which we all know makes for good blogging.
The Gizmodo article and the little spreadsheet in question come to the conclusion that the iPhone -- either model -- are still cheaper than other alternatives; such as the Tilt and Verizon's 3G offering. The original iPhone was cheapest of all; the Sprint HTC Mogul comes in second.

But it's not nearly as much fun to have flame wars over "ordinary" phones, is it?

@johnva: $0.20 is what Verizon charges too, for sending AND receiving. I don't mind paying for sending because I generally am doing that conscious of the cost I will incur, but receiving just ticks me off. I can't easily stop people from texting me, people like my sister who texts me just to tick me off because I have to pay for each one.

@TechieEddie: Ditto. SERO is awesome.

I can't wait to see people's faces when they buy this iphone and realize they don't live in a 3G area. I remember reading AT&T wont have decent 3G coverage till 2009.

@johnva:

Intersting article on True Cost of SMS.....tongue in cheek.

[gthing.net]

@crabbyman6: I think it's just ridiculous that they can get away with charging so much for it. It's a ridiculously small amount of data compared to say, Internet access. I understand that they charge the prices they do just because they can and people will pay it, but I still think it's totally ridiculous. It's almost pure profit for them.

I do understand that texts are somewhat useful (like when I'm not sure if someone is awake), but mostly their popularity makes no sense to me. Just send an email or make a phone call.

I have a Blackberry Pearl using T-Mobile. That having been said, there's nothing deceptive about Job's speech or the iPhone price point. If I'm not mistaken, the high service prices that are causing "the phone" to be more expensive is actually fees and charges levied by AT&T, not Apple.

It looks to me like Apple did make a better phone and provide it at a lower price. AT&T just decided to jack their rates and make their service more expensive over the long run.

Ouch.

@CaptZ: That was pretty funny. Thanks.

Hopefully the widespread availability of the Internet on phones will kill off the SMS "service" for good. You can usually use email, instead, and the cell companies can't prevent you from accessing encrypted email servers to do so.

Doesn't 5 x 12 = 60, not 120?

@Victo: I have never owned an Apple product before, not even an iPod, and when I broke my old cell phone, I had no interest in an iPhone. But when I went into the AT&T store (already have their service, and haven't had any problems) I looked at the iPhone, just because it was there. And I looked, and I played with it, and slowly that cult-gleam came into my eye, and I had to have it. I don't regret it at all, I use enough features on it to justify buying it, and it is the singularly most brilliantly designed piece of equipment (of any kind) that I have ever owned. I am not an Apple fan, per se, but I love my iPhone like Tom Cruise loves Scientology.

I did play with all the other phones with internet capability (from every service, as I'm not under a contract), and I didn't like any of them. My last phone was an eight-year-old Nokia 3395, which I loved, and if I hadn't gotten an iPhone I would have gotten another 3395.

3G phone data plans tend to cost more than other data plans. Such is the way of technology. My FIOS internet cost more the regular DSL but it saves me time downloading to it's worth more to me. A dude at work wanted to add a data plan to his Blackberry and they wanted $50 for it. $30 is a pretty good deal.

The new iPhone also has GPS which is probably worth a hundred bucks since that is what it would cost you to get a separate handheld GPS.

Also, with an AIM app I won't be needing SMS so that's a non-issue.

Losers who think the iPhone is just a phone are kidding themselves and missing out on some great time saving technology. In fact, I hardly ever use the phone part of the iPhone but everything else about it is sublime.

I have a motorola q on verizon. I use it to make phone calls and text message once in a while. It has a lot of features that I don't and will never use. :D

@alphafemale: It's calculated over the entirety of the 2 year mandatory contract.

Uh oh, an iPhone with a cracked screen!
Somewhere in Rainbow Land, a unicorn sheds a single tear. ;-(

@Paul D: By that logic, when cell phones were first introduced years ago for 1000 of dollars, through the use of "progress" phones and plans today should cost well into the tens of thousands... Progress should not equal higher price...